– The Rangers were defeated by the New Jersey Devils, 4-1, tonight at Prudential Center, and are now 13-4-3 in their last 20 games.

– New York has posted a record of 42-16-7 (91 pts) overall, including a 20-9-5 mark on the road.

– The Rangers held the Devils scoreless in four shorthanded situations (8:00), and are now 16-17 (94.1%) on the penalty kill in the last five games.

– New York currently owns a 10 point lead over Boston atop the Eastern Conference standings, and hold an eight-point gap over Pittsburgh for the Atlantic Division lead.

Player Notes:

– Derek Stepan notched the Rangers’ lone goal at 6:56 of the second period to extend his point streak to four games (two goals, three assists) over the span), tied for the team-high with four shots on goal and led all team forwards with 21:30 of ice time. He has now tallied 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in the last 16 games, and has registered a goal in each of the last two games.

– Carl Hagelin tallied the primary assist on Stepan’s goal and posted a plus-one rating in 16:51 of ice time. He has now tallied eight points (four goals, four assists) in the last 10 games, including six points (three goals, three assists) in the last six contests.

– Dan Girardi recorded an assist and logged a team-high, 23:09 of ice time in the contest. He has registered three assists in the last five games, and now ranks second among team defensemen with 19 assists on the season.

– Henrik Lundqvist stopped 25 of 28 shots in the contest, and is now 31-13-5 overall with a 14-7-3 mark on the road.

– The Rangers will return to action when they face-off against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, Mar. 8, at Scotiabank Place (7:30 p.m.), to begin a back-to-back road set. The game will be televised live on MSG Network and can be heard on Bloomberg Radio.

Not enough offensive pressure. Especially when they face a team that has some offensive pop.
I am still not a big MDZ fan. Tonights game proved it. He was weak defensively. He brings no point shot on the PP as well as a lack of offensive hockey sense. His inclusion in a trade should not be a reason to stop us from getting a guy like Nash in the off season.

I thought Hagelin once again brought it tonight. Just like he does on most nights.
Stepan was good as was Gabby. AA looked he is about to go into one of his month long disappearing acts.
Did Richards play?

Richards was invisible but he’s still nowhere close to being on my list. Like ORR said, ill wait till the playoffs. We cant rely on Gaborik/Cally every single game though. This is why Nash was needed. It’s a good thing Dubinsky can fight though, i was trying to see why we kept him.

Still don’t understand the scratching of Mitchell. Even less so the scratching of Stralman. You scratch a guy against the team that cut him in camp? For a pylon in Eminger? Surely Stralman would have been extra motivated and provide SOMETHING.

I like Scott. He is a good guy. But him being in the lineup only exasperates the fact that the bottom 6 lacks the ability to finish.

In retrospect the Wolski deal was a mistake. If Dubinsky is hurt, this is the exact time Wolski would have stepped in. There needs to be extra forwards on this team, ones with offense. Zuccarello is the only choice, simply because he out skills everyone in Hartford, even if he doesn’t exactly fit Torts system. Bickel (a beast on D) and Scott as the extra forwards simply isn’t good enough.

I love this team as is, but Callahan being hurt really highlighted the fact that despite having depth, it isn’t on offense.

Apparently Mitchell’s hand is banged up, despite what Lloyd will tell you. Maybe he could have played through it, but Torts sat him out.

Wolski was not a mistake. He just doesn’t fit in with this team. He can’t wrap his soft mind around the concept of this team. It just didn’t work out. It happens. Happens with a hell of a lot better players than Wolski.

I agree, Wolski didn’t fit this system. But he had something players like Scott don’t have. Offensive potential.

Tell me who you’d rather have substitute as a 3rd/2nd line winger. John Scott or Wojtek Wolski.

Again, no slag on Scott, from what I can tell he understands his role and is willing to play it. But just because the team carries 4 extra dmen, 2 of which can play forward, doesn’t mean those 2 are adequate fill ins.